Recognizing the best and the brightest from the Nittany Lions in Week 12:

RBs Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton: Zwinak rumbled for 26 carries, 149 yards and three touchdowns. Belton started and ran 19 times for 81 yards and a score. Numbers don't always tell the full story ... but does anything else really have to be said after those stats? Penn State ran all over Purdue on Saturday, and those two were the most valuable players on the offense. Belton gained extra yards after eluding defenders on ankle-spraining cuts, and Zwinak routinely carried a defender or two for a few extra yards every attempt.

WR Allen Robinson: It wasn't his best game, but he was still Christian Hackenberg's top target by accounting for half of PSU's 16 completions. He also broke yet another single-season school record by hauling in eight catches for 98 yards. He now has a record 81 catches on the season and is the first Penn State player to ever reach the 80-catch plateau. Then again, he's also the only Penn Stater to reach the 70-catch mark, too.

CBs Adrian Amos and Jordan Lucas: OK, the secondary as a whole didn't play great -- and these two probably aren't going to make the All-Big Ten teams as a result of these performances. But they both made plays when Penn State needed, and they both played a big role in stopping the Purdue offense on several drives. Lucas came up with a key interception -- and nearly came away with two others -- while Amos finished with 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a game-high eight stops.

LB Mike Hull: He forced one fumble and recovered another, and the recovery led to a Nittany Lions' touchdown. He finished with a respectable six tackles, which was the most by a player in the front seven and only one of his tackles came more than three yards upfield. He also added a stop in the backfield

K Sam Ficken: Ficken is stickin' the returners now. The kicker converted six PATs and a 29-yard FG, but the most memorable part Saturday was when he took down Purdue tailback Akeem Hunt during a 37-yard kickoff return. There was enough green ahead for Hunt that he might've had a touchdown, but Ficken dove and took the tailback down. The kicker -- excuse the pun -- of it all? Ficken had a pulled groin and still made the play. Said Bill O'Brien: "He laid his body out for that."